Defending CIF champion Wilson traveled to Poly on Tuesday afternoon for the first half of this biannual Moore League derby.

When the dust settled after another emotional contest, a 15-second span in the 44th minute had defined and decided this rivalry match that ultimately put the Jackrabbits atop the league soccer standings after the first round of play.

Poly midfielder Morgan Mccullough physically dominated her counterparts all game. Four minutes after a scoreless halftime, the senior captain tackled the ball away from two Bruins so that Leslie Walker could roll it into the left corner for Tavia Leachman. With two touches near the end line, the sophomore beat her defender and sent a low screamer into the goal mouth. The ball missed three sets of legs and nestled into the far side netting for what would prove to be the game-winner.

In other words, Poly (7-5-5, 5-0-1) won the physical battle to take Wilson (8-6-3, 4-1-1) out of its game while Leachman proved to be the difference at both ends of the field.

“I didn’t think it would work,” said Leachman of her goal. “But it did, so I was like, sweet.”

The talented underclassman recently returned from a club commitment and had played about 100 minutes of high school soccer in 2014 before yesterday. Usually a striker, Leachman started the game as defensive sweeper and was moved back up top at the half.

To protect the lead, head coach Teri Collins put her on the back line for the waning minutes.

“I’m usually go, go, go,” said Leachman. “But in the back I had to be smart, relax and play simple … (after halftime) it was time to go after it.”

That’s the way Poly played from the opening whistle, routinely beating Wilson to 50/50 balls and playing quickly with a direct approach. The Jackrabbits committed 21 fouls in the match, but a lot of those came from slower play by the Bruins. That played perfectly into the Jackrabbits’ hands while outshooting the Bruins, 11-7.

“We got the ball and then we got hammered,” said Wilson head coach Dalton Kaufman. “Just like the Millikan game, we got punched in the mouth early and didn’t respond. That’s one of the best games (Poly) has played against us.”

Poly enjoyed the first string of scoring chances in the opening 15 minutes by going up the middle of the pitch and attacking the space usually controlled by Wilson senior Katie Pratt-Thompson, who has been out with injury since December.

“This was absolutely an upset,” said Poly head coach Teri Collins. “(Mccullough) is our only senior (position player) returning with varsity experience in this game. I’m very proud. We haven’t allowed a goal yet (in Moore League) and we’re on top.”

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Poly sits atop the table thanks to a scoreless draw Monday at Lakewood between the Lancers (6-8-3, 2-2-1) and visiting Millikan Rams. Millikan (11-0-6, 3-0-3) was especially dominant over the first 40 minutes. The closest chance at a goal came in the 38th minute off a long throw-in by Millikan’s Kaylee Mazzone.

The ball was headed in the box, then rolled off the back of a Lakewood defender towards the goal. Senior goalkeeper Isabella Reynoso got enough of her fingertips on the ball to keep it outside the goal line, before defender Alexus Aviles could finally clear it away.

“I felt the whole first half we played on their side, we just didn’t get the final touch to finish anything,” said a disappointed Millikan head coach Tino Nunez after the match. “That’s frustrating to be all over a team and not get the result.”

Millikan plays Compton on Thursday and then has a huge home matchup with first-place Poly next Tuesday at 5 p.m.

About the Author

JJ Fiddler is a sportswriter and videographer who has been covering the Long Beach-area sports world for multiple newspapers since 2004. After attending Long Beach State and creating the first full sports page at the Union Weekly Newspaper, he adopted Long Beach as his home town and is a member of the Long Beach Century Club, where he is a two-time winner of the Keith Cordes Award for best promotion of the city through sports. Reach the author at jj.fiddler@langnews.com
or follow JJ on Twitter: @PTGazetteSports.